


Bro-nus Billy and Spencer Stories

by Kiristo



Category: Dude That's My Ghost!
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Character Study, Drabbles, Family, Family Feels, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Canon, no ect0feature, scrapped ideas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2020-08-23 21:16:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20226322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiristo/pseuds/Kiristo
Summary: A collection of bonus stories in association with my series: Ghost Stories. Some are just little one-shots, some are outtakes that didn't make it into one of the main stories, and some are older bits that got rewritten into something else.





	1. Unicorpoise comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Billy has a bad dream, something stupid and shallow(until he gets to know what REAL nightmares are) but Spencer tries to help. 
> 
> Came up with this idea when I was already well into over half of the original P/R/P story so it didn’t really work anymore. This idea would have taken place early in the story, somewhere around chapters 2 and 3, where Billy was still not happy to be staying with the Wrights and still didn’t like Spencer. Probably replacing the first guitar scene where Billy tries to play for Spencer and the kid botches his real name. Kind of sad that I hadn’t thought of it sooner to incorporate it into the story. I feel like if it were the first sign of kindness that Spencer had shown Billy(despite Billy acting like a brat) it would have been a good start to their friendship. (let’s just pretend it’s somewhere in the beginning)

Billy’s eyes snapped open. It was dark all around him as the images of his nightmare replayed clear as day in his head. His pants split open on stage and the audience laughed. The media had a field day humiliating him and it all went downhill from there. No one took him seriously or appreciated his creative genius. His usual stunts with his costumes and makeup made him a laughing stock and subject to harsh ridicule. His mother loomed over him telling him that she was right all along. Then he was replaced by some new teeny-bopper wearing a ghastly outfit.

It was the most horrible nightmare he’s ever had. As his eyes focused on the ceiling the images started to fade and he released a held breath. Billy scrubbed at his face and groaned. It had to be this horrible situation he was stuck in. Staying with these _people,_ supposed relatives or something, in the middle of nowhere. This was giving him bad dreams. There was no other explanation. 

Billy sighed and rolled onto his side, hugging the flat, sorry excuse for a pillow. He nearly jumped out of his skin at a dark figure hovering next to him. Backed up against the wall, he knew he was done for. Someone had discovered where he was and was going to kidnap him for his fortune! Or worse, it was the teeny-bopper from his nightmare here to kill him and replace him as the most famous pop star in the world! But the longer he stared and the more his eyes focused he noticed the figure was small. At least smaller than what he imagined the _ replacement _ to be. Man, they were recruiting kids younger and younger these days…

“You ok?” came a timid voice.

Oh, never mind. It was just the brat. Big brown eyes glanced up at him from underneath that mop of brown hair. Billy glared down at him, “What the ham, dude?! Your parents never tell you that hovering next to someone’s bed is weird, you little creep?!”

Spencer flinched, his face twisted into a frown and his eyes grew glassy as he fidgeted with something behind his back.

_ Ah, crap... _If the kid cried and his mother found out he’s the one who made him then Billy would be in for a world of trouble. But he also didn’t know how to fix it. He coughed, “What...What were you doing anyway?”

The kid failed to suppress a sniffle, “Looked like you were having a bad dream…”

“Yeah, it was horrible. Like super DUPER horrible, worst thing you could imagine in this world. What of it?”

As Spencer stared at the floor he held out a stuffed animal. It looked like a cartoon whale but it had a horn like a unicorn. Billy had no idea what it was but it was cute and he really liked it. Not that he'd admit that out loud. Then Spencer squeezed it and Billy was really floored. It glowed! Multiple colors! 

"This used to make me feel better when I had bad dreams. You can borrow it," Spencer said as he handed it to Billy. 

He took the stuffed animal and watched the glowing lights slowly change colors until it stopped. He gave it a squeeze and it glowed again. 

“What is it? I mean I know it’s a night light but like...what animal is it?” he asked.

Spencer shrugged and fidgeted, “Dad said it’s a whale or something. I don’t remember.”

“It’s like...a unicorn and a whale...or dolphin. Porpoise, maybe?”

“A what?”

“A porpoise. I saw one at a sea show once, it was wicked cool. So this is like a...unicorpoise maybe? So cool.”

Spencer just blinked at him as Billy grinned at the toy. He liked the idea. Something unique yet gorgeous, just like him. He saw the kid smiling at him and he forced a halfhearted glare.

"I'm too old for childish stuff like this," he scoffed. Then the kid frowned and Billy got a weird feeling in his gut. He didn’t like it. "Uh...but, it'll do, I guess…" he muttered.

Spencer smiled a little, scampered back to his bed and climbed in.

Billy looked down at the toy as the lights faded. He gave it another squeeze and felt calmer. Billy glanced over at the kid, feeling...something bad about snapping at him before. Was this guilt? That thing his mom always told him he’d feel one day. If it was then he didn’t like it and regrettably, he remembered how his mom told him he could get rid of it. Apologize. He felt his face heat up from what he was about to do.

"Uh, hey, kid? Thanks…"

Spencer rolled over and smiled at him, "You're welcome. Goodnight."

Billy coughed away his embarrassment as he lay back down, "Night."

Billy watched the colors glowing from the toy. He didn't want to admit it but Spencer was right, it did make him feel better. Maybe the kid wasn't so bad after all. 


	2. Scene Cut 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scene was cut because at the time it felt too out of character and caused some small plot holes. Also, a few plot points changed around. And I wanted to just 'show' the school and junkyard scenes instead of telling without doing both as it seemed redundant. But there are still aspects of this scene I like more than what made it into the finished story. 
> 
> Basically, after Billy regained his memories in the first chapter he spent several days moping about it. Spencer originally had an easier time believing Billy’s story about them having spent time together as kids but they also got into an argument about it. This was at the point where Spencer tries to reconcile and Billy tells him a story of when they were kids.

Spencer’s mouth opened and then snapped shut. Maybe he was being too hard on Billy. “I-...I’m sorry, man. I shouldn’t get so mad at you for forgetting. I mean I forgot too so it’s not fair to take it out on you.”

“You were just a baby. Not like it’s totally un-bro-lievable you’d forget,” he forced out a laugh, “Bet you don’t even remember what you had for breakfast this morning.”

“Pancakes.”

Billy rolled his eyes and finally looked at him, “You know what I mean, dill weed.”

Spencer smirked and held his arms out as a peace offering. Billy smiled a little before zipping over and giving him a hug. Billy squeezed him tight for a long moment before pulling away, rubbing his eyes and looking at the camcorder.

“One time I went to pick you up from school cuz your mom and dad were working late and my mom was being a jerk about it. I didn’t want to go cuz I had to walk all the way there and the only pair of shoes I had with me were some expensive designer boots. But my mom and I got into a fight so I caved and went to get you...course I complained the whole way there,” he let out a small chuckle and sat on the bed. Spencer plopped down next to him.

“When I got to the school you came running over to me bawling your little eyes out and you hugged me and wouldn’t let go. When I asked what was wrong, you said the other kids picked on you. They called you weird cuz you brought in your favorite zombie toy in for show ‘n tell and some bullies broke it.”

Spencer frowned, “I think I remember that toy. ZomBoy, from  _ Night of the Teenage Zombie _ .” It was a silly B-Horror movie that could also be classified as a bad comedy because it was just that terrible. But it was one of the first horror movies his parents let him watch as a kid so he loved it.

Billy nodded, “So I picked you up and carried you away from that stupid place. I didn’t know what to say to make you feel better so I sang instead. You calmed down right away so I think you enjoyed it. Then I remembered some funny stories from my shows and I told you them until you laughed so hard your cheeks were red. Like the time I tried smashing a guitar on stage for a show but accidentally threw it and broke an amp instead. Or the time I tried doing this really cool pose at the end of a song and ripped my pants.”

Spencer blurted out a laugh, “Wow, I wish I could have seen that.”

“There’s probably a video online somewhere,” Billy swallowed thickly, “But we didn’t go home right away. You said you wanted to show me something so you took me to this old abandoned shack in the woods that used to belong to a hoarder or something cuz the yard looked like a junkyard.”

Spencer grinned, “Yeah, I remember that place! I built a fort there.”

“We did,” Billy corrected, “The one you made by yourself was total lame sauce-”

“Gee, thanks…”

“-So I helped you make a better one. The whole time you talked about the horror movies you liked and about some of your own ideas for scary stories. I told you about the fight with my mom, how she didn’t like my costumes and performances. So we got an idea and made costumes, props, sets out of cardboard and junk. We pretended to be zombies, vampires, werewolves, aliens, robots, you name it. I dressed up and acted however I wanted to and it didn’t bother you the way it bothered my mom. I felt comfortable just being whatever I wanted to be and I think you were psyched to play with someone who didn’t call you a weirdo for liking monsters. But we stayed out too late so when we got home our parents were so mad cuz you had homework and chores to do and we were both filthy. I was wearing makeup and a flippin’ lampshade as a skirt so of course, mom was furious. She said all kinds of shit but I didn’t care cuz we had so much freaking fun.”

Spencer's eyes stung so he screwed them shut, “Why don’t I remember? Even if I was just a kid, I wouldn’t-”

Billy sighed and waited for a beat, “I don’t know but I forgot too, bromosome, and I don’t have an excuse. It’s like...after I left, all that time we spent together just fell out of my noggin or something. Like a puzzle missing some pieces.”

“Then how did you remember now?” 

Billy shrugged, “Beats me, dude. When I saw those pictures I remembered some stuff but not everything. Some stuff is still kinda fuzzy.”

Something clicked, “Dude when you were holding those pictures I thought I saw you glowing for a moment. At first, I thought it was just a trick of the light or something but maybe it has something to do with the pictures?”

“Iiii’m not following, brosephes…”

“You know, like something ghosty! Like when you’re ecto gets on stuff and makes things go crazy.”

Billy crossed his arms, “But_ I_ didn’t get any ecto on the pictures...I think.”

“Well let’s try it and see what happens,” Spencer grinned and raced over to the box. 

Billy floated over, “Weren’t you the one who said that stuff is liquid chaos?”

“Yeah, but we can at least try, dude.” Spence took out the pictures again, smiling fondly for a moment before looking at Billy, “Alright, let’s give it a shot.”

Billy sighed but pulled up his sleeve before shoving his arm down his throat and pulling out a glob of ecto. Spencer made a gagging expression and held the photos out. Billy threw it at the photos, causing Spencer to drop them.

“Ah! Dude, come on!”

"Haha! Sorry, bro."

Spencer knelt down and grabbed one of the pictures that happened to have a bit of ecto on it. A shiver ran up his spine and he got a vivid memory of walking into an old abandoned cabin flashed in his mind. He could remember the feeling of someone holding his hand but he didn’t know who. He didn’t remember anything else but he got a sense of foreboding and a strong desire to go to the cabin. Spencer picked up more pictures but could remember nothing else, yet those feelings did not fade. He didn’t know how long he’d been staring at nothing until Billy’s hand was waving in his face. 

“Yo! Space Bro-det!”

Spencer blinked up at him, “Huh?”

“I asked if you were ok, dude! You were totally zoning on me, not cool!” 

“Ah-sorry, I just remembered something...HEY! I remembered something!”

Billy hovered next to him with a curious and worried expression, “What’d you remember?”

“That cabin. Nothing else just this short flash of looking at the cabin and walking into it.”

“But you played there all the time, even after I left. Doesn’t mean it’s when I visited.”

“This is different,” Spencer leveled his gaze, “That place never used to feel...creepy to me but something about this memory feels...off like there’s something bad. Besides, someone was holding my hand. I don’t know who but I never told anyone else about my hiding place so who else could it be? What do you remember about that place?”

Billy’s eyebrows furrowed, “Umm...not much. Definitely don’t remember going inside that icky place. I don’t remember much else before I left actually. It’s like there are more gaps.”

Spencer tapped on his chin, “Maybe if we go check out the cabin it’ll jog our memories.”

Billy thought for a moment before his face brightened, “Yeah! But how are we gonna get there, Christopher Bro-lumbus?”

Spencer smirked, “Mom and Dad are taking Jessica to a competition this weekend. We can take your limo.”

Billy scowled but didn’t argue. 


	3. Spencers' Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Outtake from chapter 3 of Playback Error.
> 
> Originally, I was going to have Spencer dream of one of the times he and Billy played as kids. But given how the story is going I decided to change it to a nightmare. So here’s the original dream.

_ Everything was brighter, greener, and somehow bigger than him. Didn’t matter. He had an important job to do. He needed more materials to decorate the Fort. And it was the most important job of all because Billy had tasked him with it. Even let him go looking for supplies all by himself! His own parents never let him wander far on his own. Well, at least that they knew of. _

_ Spencer skipped all around the junkyard, looking at all of the fun things they could use. Pots, pans, buckets, baskets. All of which he imagined turning into alien helmets. Or maybe armor to fight the aliens. Or zombies. Whichever they decided to play next. Or they could make those old broom handles over there into swords to play pirates! Or-Oh! Billy would love those string lights! But Spencer couldn’t reach them. There were some really cool Halloween decorations he wanted to bring back but Spencer knew Billy didn’t really like that stuff even though he said it was ok. Spencer decided to bring back some of the not as scary ones anyway. But he also wanted something Billy would approve of. _

_ Those brightly colored pieces of fabric next to that old lantern had promise. Some shattered CDs lay next to it. He got an idea. Spencer grinned wildly as he collected the objects and got to work. _

_ When he finished he carried his creation back to the Fort. Even before he entered he could hear the guitar strumming away. Billy sat on the stage, signing to himself and playing the pretty red guitar. _

_ Spencer ran right up to him, “Billy! Billy! Look what I made!” _

_ His teenage cousin put the guitar aside, “Whadda ya got there, tater-tot?” _

_ Spencer held up the decoration he’d made. He’d decorated the lantern with the colorful pieces of fabric and CD shards. _

_ “We can make it light up, right? It’ll look so cool!” _

_ Billy blinked at and for a moment Spencer feared that Billy didn’t like what he made. But then Billy smiled, “It’s awesomesauce, lil’ dude! It’ll like up like a disco ball. We can ask your dad for some kinda battery-powered light thingy to go inside it and make this puppy shine.” _

_ Spencer grinned. _

_ Billy patted him on the head,  _ " _ Good job, squirt." _


	4. Bone Hoodie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This I do consider part of my Ghost Stories works.
> 
> Set between P/R/P and Playback Error. The pair are tasked with cleaning out some of Billy’s junk from the attic. They find some boxes of clothes, one of which contains a hoodie with a bone design on it that Spencer takes a shine to. At first, Billy just wants to get rid of it and never see it again. But Spencer loves the jacket and gets upset when Billy wants him to throw it away. Billy’s feeling guilty about having missed out on watching Spencer grow up and spoiling him with presents so he caves and agrees to let Spencer have it.

Spencer coughed and waved a hand in the air as another plume of dust erupted in his face. Billy helpfully shapeshifted into a fan to blow it away yet again. He gave the ghost an appreciative node before frowning down at the box before him. Filled with more of the diva pop-stars’ old clothes. 

“Trash it,” Billy said as his nose wrinkled in disgust at the articles inside.

Spencer nodded and added the box to the ever-growing ‘Donations’ pile. His Mom had been complaining for some time now about not having a space to store her extra hair salon supplies. The garage was overflowing with his Dads’ projects and the basement was filled with Billys’ old junk that they couldn’t get rid of for one reason or another. But the attic was another story. It was filled with junk.

After the boys had discovered their old shoebox up there and gone on a little adventure into their past Spencer thought it would be a good idea to finally clean out that space. They could potentially find more stuff which they didn’t want Spencers’ family to get ahold of. Billy said that most of the stuff was junk he threw up there ages ago and forgot about so it was possible. It was also possible that everything else was just junk. As they shifted through boxes they divided up the stuff between what could be thrown away or donated. Spencer wanted to convert the space into a place his Mom could use and present it as her next Mother's Day present. 

So far they found nothing else connected to their past and very little else worth keeping. Most of it was clothes and costumes that Billy had only worn once or twice and quickly abandoned as he passed through a phase or the garment went out of style. Some of the clothes Billy did still like and was having himself a little fashion show on the other side of the room as Spencer cleaned. 

“Duuuude!! Check this out!”

Spencer turned as Billy emerged from one of the boxes wearing a full sequined one-piece silver suit that reflected the light in rainbows. It was accompanied by hula-hoop like attachments with little orbiting planets that spun around his body. It looked like some kind of 80’s futuristic outfit.

“. . . What the heck is that?”

“Miss Blah Blah and I had a field day during an avant-garde contest trying to outdo each other with futuristic disco fever outfits. I won of course.”

“Wearing  _ that _ ?”

Billy nodded with pride.

. . . Spencer decided not to ask anything more. He shook his head and turned back to his current task. 

A few seconds later something flew over his head, obscuring his vision and constraining him. He struggled and fought against it until his arms and face were put through holes so he could move and he could see again. Spencer blinked as Billy hovered in front of him with a grin. Spencer glared and tried to get a look at whatever Billy had just put him in but it was too stiff to move properly. Billy then spun him around to face the mirror. He was wearing an outfit equally as garish and eccentric as what Billy was wearing.

“We could totally rock these looks.”

Spencer pouted, removed the absurd garment, and shoved it into Billy’s hands. “Billy, I can’t wear this! It’s too-... _ you! _ ”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Look at it, it’s covered in rhinestones and glitter. I’ll be a laughing stock if I wear that."

"No one laughed at me when I wore it."

"That's because you're famous."

Billy pouted, putting the outfit back and diving into another box. Spencer sighed, pushing more of the same boxes to the side. All filled to the brim with overly extravagant and over-the-top pieces of clothing. Donations. If anyone would even wear them that is. Then his eye caught a box labeled ‘Do Not Open’ in big red letters.

He blinked at it and looked back at Billy who had changed back into his regular look and was rummaging around other boxes. His back was to Spence. He smirked and bent down, grabbing a box cutter and opening the box. He gasped at what was inside. The box was full of dark, grunge articles of clothing with graphic designs, studded spiked jewelry, black makeup, etc. The kind of stuff the goth and punk kids at his old school wore.

“WHAT is all this?” He grinned.

Billy popped up from the box he was in and stared. Then he gasped and swooped over to him. “No! No way, put that away!”

Spencer pulled out a black studded leather jacket that had messy bone designs painted on it. “Don’t tell me YOU, the same guy who wears feathers, sequins, and heals wore this kind of stuff too.” he teased. The thought of Billy decked out in a punk or goth look was too funny to him for some reason. He was far too accustomed to Billy in bright colors, sparkles, and other more pop-star related things. This stuff was more up Spencers’ alley. 

“It was just a phase! Put that back!”

Billy tried pulling the box away from him but Spencer wouldn’t let him. “No way!” Spencer dug through the box, looking at the array of studded bracelets, jewelry for body piercings, ripped black skinny jeans, graphic t-shirts, and more.

“We can use some of this for my new movie: Grunge Ghoules!”

“Nooo!! Come on, man! Put this junk away, would ya?” Billy whined.

“Why are you so bent out of shape? You’re not using any of this anymore. You don’t even like it.” One item, in particular, caught his eye. It was a black hoodie decorated with a simplified ribcage design. He put it on. A little big but comfortable. He walked over to the mirror Billy had been using during his fashion show. He liked the hoodie.

Spencer grinned back at Billy, “Can I keep this one?”

“No! What did I just say? Put that back! It’s getting thrown away.”

Spencer frowned and looked back at himself in the mirror. He really did like the hoodie. It was a shame to get rid of it. But he supposed someone else might enjoy it too…

Spencer took it off with one final longing look before going over to the donation pile.

"...Wait…" Billy called.

Spencer looked back at him. The ghost stared at the floor with an odd thoughtful expression. "You can keep it."

Spencer blinked, "What? Really?"

“Just...think of it as, you know...a way of...making up for missing all your birthdays and holidays…”

Spencer stared at him. A smile spread across his face and he put the hoodie back on. “Thanks, dude! This is so awesome!”

Billy cleared his throat and turned back to the mountains of boxes they still had to go through.

Spencer smiled and jogged over to him, “Tell me more about this little goth/punk phase you went through.”

“You’re pushing it, squirt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've drawn Spencer in the bone hoodie before and speculated that it once belonged to Billy during a phase. Wanted to make a short little drabble about how Spencer inherited it.


	5. The Chameleon Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One-Shot. Spencer’s had a very rough day and has a bit of a rebellious teenager moment as he sneaks out for some fun with Rajeev. They go out to a club where they see a familiar face onstage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hemmed and hawed about posting this one but screw it...¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> In which no one is in character and I don’t give a flippin pancake. It's short but meh.
> 
> Also, headcanon that Spencer loves rock, punk, metal types of music.
> 
> Warnings:  
Swearing  
Mentions of alcohol but no underaged drinking

Spencer was fuming. Beyond mad. Beyond pissed off. Beyond livid. At this point, he was just done with everything. 

His day had started off with an argument with Billy. He couldn’t even remember what it was about anymore but the diva pop-star had thrown a tantrum again and refused to accompany Spencer to school. Not that Spencer cared at the time but his day had gone downhill from there.

Without Billy’s supernatural help his bullies tormented him relentlessly all day. Apparently figuring out his ‘special effects’ were on the fritz they decided today was the day to make his life hell. Ponzi got in on the action too, irritating him and giving him detention for no reason. When Spencer got home things didn’t get much better. Jessica, being a typical annoying little sister, blamed him for something he didn’t do and it got him grounded. Come to think of it, it may have been something Billy did that Spencer had neglected to make the primadonna fix. But it didn’t even matter because the ghost wasn’t there. When Spencer went up to his room to either vent to his friend or ream him a new one he found the room empty. Billy wasn’t in the studio either and wasn’t answering his phone.

Spencer was so tired of everything. So very, very tired. Of Lolo and Kleet. Of Ponzi. Of getting blamed for stuff that wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t fair. Why him? What had he ever done wrong? Sure he liked horror movies and scary stuff but did that alone warrant the abuse he endured? No. At least not in his mind. And he was tired of just rolling over and taking it. 

  
_ Ding! _

Spencer took out his phone. A text from Rajeev. An invitation to sneak out and join him at some kind of underground edgy concert tonight. Spencer blinked. Breaking the rules and sneaking out wasn’t something he typically did. He was a good kid who tried to follow the rules most of the time despite everything. He smirked. But tonight...

Spencer crept up to the attic where a few boxes of Billy’s old clothes sat, waiting to be taken to a donation center. There was one box in particular that he was interested in. Stuff that Billy wouldn’t miss. When he was dressed and ready, he snuck out through his bedroom window, leaving one of his zombie toys in the window to prop it open so he could sneak back in later.

  
  


He had to bike all the way into town to the Wi-Fri where he secured his bike to a bike rack. Then he walked the rest of the way to meet up with Rajeev in a section of the city he didn’t normally go to. It didn’t look as nice or clean as the areas he was accustomed to. Spencer began to second guess his decision to come out here. If his parents ever found out he was in this part of town he’d be grounded until he was thirty. But seeing Rajeev leaning against a building waiting for him gave him a little more confidence. At least if he was caught he wouldn’t be the only one in trouble. Rajeev was dressed in ripped jeans, a v-neck shirt, lots of jewelry, a sharp blazer, sunglasses that weren’t needed as it was nighttime, and sparkly boots.

“Brooooo! Lookin’ goood!!” Rajeev said as Spencer jogged up to him.

Spencer had borrowed a few things from Billy’s ‘punk’ box. One of Spencers' own horror graphic tees paired with a studded black canvas jacket, a studded belt with a skull buckle, matching bracelet, ripped jeans, and combat boots. He shrugged, “Trying something new.”

“Surprised you even showed! You’re normally the wet blanket when it comes to this kinda stuff.”

“...gee, thanks…”

“Just keeping it real, dude. Where’s Billy?”

Spencer rolled his eyes, “Don’t know, don’t care. I need something to get my mind off today. Let’s get going wherever we’re going.”

Rajeev chuckled, “I’m liking this new rebellious Spence. Alright, let’s go! Woot-whoo!” Rajeev cheered and jogged off down the street and Spencer followed. 

Rajeev led him down an alley to a cramped backstreet lined with attached buildings. They stopped outside the entrance of one small building where a neon sign hung above reading ‘The Chameleon Club’. A handwritten chalk sign sat on the sidewalk listing the bands playing that evening. None of which Spencer had ever heard of. He assumed they were all local bands, the kind who were unsigned and went from one small club to another playing any gig they could get. A burly man stood in front of the door where a small line of people waited to enter. One by one each person handed the bouncer a ticket and their ID. He’d scrutinize both before handing them back to the person and stamping their hand with either a green or red mark before they could enter. 

"You have the tickets?” Spencer asked.

“Don’t worry, bro, the Raj has got you covered,” Rajeev said as he flashed a pair of tickets in his face, “You bring your ID like I said?”

Spencer nodded and followed Rajeev to the line. It didn’t take long for them to reach the bouncer who examined their things before stamping their hands with a red mark and ushering them in.

They walked through a narrow, dark hallway and through another door into a huge room. Immediately next to the door was a merch stand that was selling band gear. On the other side was a bar where some people were sitting and drinking. Then at the far side of the room was a small stage where the current band was performing some kind of punk rock music. The club was alight with dancing multicolored lights. A crowd of people bounced and surged along to the music in front of the stage. 

“Wow! This is awesome!” Spencer gaped. 

The pair went straight to the mosh pit and began to weave their way toward the front of the stage. It was so loud but he was enjoying the music. The band members wore similar punk-ish clothing but they also had various masks. The singer obviously didn’t have a mask covering his whole face like the others. He only wore a mask over his eyes under messy black hair.

Spencer cocked his head to the side. There was something familiar about the lead singer. About the entire band really, but he focused on the singer. He even sounded familiar. But Spencer was almost positive this was the first time he’d heard this band.

“Does the singer seem familiar to you?” Spencer asked Rajeev.

“What?!” Rajeev shouted over the noise.

“DOES THE SINGER SEEM FAMILIAR TO YOU?!” Spencer shouted.

“WHAT’S PECULIAR?!” 

Spencer shook his head, his friend obviously couldn’t hear him. It wasn’t until the singer leaned into the crowd right in front of him did something click. They made eye contact. The man stopped singing and his face flashed with recognition. Spencer recognized him back. 

_ Billy_.

His friend stared at him with a dumbfounded expression before the bassist nudged him to remind him that he was supposed to be singing. A rowdy fan even tossed a water bottle at him. Billy quickly recovered by continuing to sing, picking up the bottle, opening it, taking a swig, then spitting it back out in the direction of the fan and chucking the bottle into the crowd. The crowd oddly seemed to enjoy it. Spencer grimaced, happy it wasn’t in his direction. Billy then disappeared briefly behind the curtain but quickly reemerged with flare. After that Billy continued performing as if nothing happened. 

Spencer blinked and continued watching him. He scrutinized the other band members more. They were Billy clones, each styled differently so that the average person in this dimly lit setting couldn’t tell they were all the same person. The ghost must have been using his powers to appear visible as well as multiply himself. So many questions flooded Spencers’ mind. The most prominent one being ‘what the heck was Billy doing here’?

He felt someone grab his arm and pull him away. Spencer tried to pull away and swatting at this person but nothing worked. The man pulling him through the crowd had also snagged Rajeev who struggled alongside him. When they were out of the crowd the man flung the boys forward. Rajeev fell flat on his face. Spencer stumbled but caught himself and whirled around on their captor. Only to freeze.

_ Viper_, Billy in one of his disguises, stood there, arms on hips and glaring like a mom who caught their kid doing something bad. “What the hell are you two doing here?!” He demanded.

“I could ask you the same thing!” Spencer shot back.

Billy’s mouth opened and closed several times, thinking of what to say. But right as he was about to say something Rajeev cut in.

“Really jam, though! I totally dig this, it’s awesome!” Rajeev cheered after bouncing back to his feet.

Spencer blinked. He and Billy stared at each other for a moment, their tempers seeming to die down. Spencer looked back to the band of Billys who were still performing. “Yeah,” he sighed, “yeah it is.”

Billy frowned slightly before ushering the boys to a less crowded corner in the back where they could hear each other better. “Still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.”

“Don’t be such a wet blanket,” Rajeev said, “You’re not usually this lame.”

“This place isn’t exactly kid-friendly.”

Rajeev held up his hand to show the red mark. “We're not kids and It’s not like we came here to drink, just for the music.”

Billy eyed Spencer who let out a huff. “I had a really bad day, ok? I needed to just...get away.”

Billy’s expression softened to something more sympathetic and he bashfully rubbed the back of his head. “Aw...crap. I guess I can’t be mad. I did worse shit when I was your age and I had a rough day.”

“You still do. On a good day.” Spencer teased. 

Billy playfully glared at him before throwing an arm around Spencers’ shoulders, putting him in a headlock, and giving him a noogie. Rajeev rolled his eyes at them before rejoining the crowd. 

Spencer squirmed and shoved Billy off. “Quit it, tool-shed!”

Billy just laughed, keeping on arm still around the kids’ shoulders but leaving him alone otherwise. “Still buds?” The ghost asked.

“Of course we are, don’t be dumb.”

“Brat,” Billy smirked. 

“Moron,” Spencer teased back.

The pair chuckled a moment before Spencer looked back at the performance. “Seriously, though. This is really cool. It’s so different from your usual stuff though. What made you wanna do something like this?”

“Used to do it all the time before I got ghosted.”

“Seriously?! You never told me. How come this is the first I’m hearing of it?”

“I wanted to experiment with all kinds of music, not just pop. But it’s not something my managers approved of. The Cobra image was already branded as an upbeat, gorgeous, talented, pop-star and that’s all they wanted, so all my other ideas were shot down.”

Spencer frowned, “That blows dude…”

“But I found a way around it,” he grinned, “I created a whole bunch of aliases and disguises. When I was feeling kinda low I’d sneak away and play at these ratty little clubs.”

“How come you never told me?” Spencer pouted.

Billy’s face contorted for a moment as if he was considering what to say. He shrugged, “Never thought much about it till today. I also didn’t wanna tarnish the Cobra’s dazzling image.”

Spencer snorted, “You wouldn’t have 'tarnished' anything. I already know there’s more to you than just being a self-center, idiotic prick. Right, _ Baruch_?”

Billy gaped at him, half insulted but more surprised that Spencer pronounced his name right. He ruffled Spencer’s hair again. “Better watch it, you’re cruisin' for a bruisin'.”

Spencer laughed and lightly shoved him. They watched the performance in silence for a beat.

“You know I can’t even remember what we argued about,” Billy said.

“Me either.”

“Sorry I wasn’t there to help you today.”

Spencer shrugged halfheartedly, “I can’t expect to rely on you for everything.”

“Aww, my little Tater-tot is all growed up,” the singer cooed.

Spencer elbowed him in the ribs, “You suck. You just gotta ruin the moment, don’t you?”

Billy laughed, “Ok, ok. Seriously though...Kleet?”

“And Lolo and Ponzi.”

“Hmm...looks like we’ll just have to get back at them.”

Spencer smirked, “What’d you have in mind?”

The boys spent the last hour of the performance scheming as the band of Billy’s played. They snuck back into the house with some ghostly assistance in the wee hours of the morning. Throughout the next school day if Spencer caught some extra Z’s while the usual bullies were preoccupied with some supernatural inconveniences then no one noticed. And anytime some mysterious, unknown punk rock band happened to pop up in a dingy club Spencer, Rajeev, and even Shanilla made sure to get tickets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Partially inspired off of a scene in LIS:BTS when Chloe sneaks off to go to the Firewalk concert. But mostly based off of when I was in high school and a friend took me to this tiny hole-in-the-wall club/bar to see Kill Hannah in the city. It was my first ever ‘concert’ and it was such a fun experience, cementing my taste in music. The name of this club is the same I went to back then.
> 
> Don’t ask me how Spencer climbed down the side of the house when he snuck out. It’s my fanfic I can do what I want. Also, him leaving it propped open is a not-so-subtle nod from P/R/P when he learned to do it from Billy. Picking up his bad habits isn’t a good thing, Spence…
> 
> Also, we’re pretending BIlly has better control over his powers of visibility.
> 
> Hopefully, I can finish the next short soon. It features the boys as kids again. :)


	6. Carnival: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The carnival is in town and the family decides to go. Like a typical teenager, Billy wants to spend time with other teens his own age. Meanwhile, Spencer leads them to the last place that Billy wants to go to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not feeling good so didn't take much time to proofread. Sorry in advance if there are any errors.
> 
> Originally this was a much smaller bonding chapter in P/R/P that would have taken place shortly after the ‘weird’ conversation so he’s warming up to the kid, but I had to scrap it. I decided to expand on it here and make it into this little one-off two-part story. Technically not canon to Ghost Stories. 
> 
> I also just really love writing in Teen!Billy’s POV. As much as I love writing about him being a somewhat older sibling figure(when he’s not being an idiot) I also love writing about him being an absolute brat.

“...What is it?” Billy asked as he stared at the brightly colored flyer Jane had handed to him.

“A Carnival!” she smiled, “Oh they’re oodles of fun! There are rides, games, raffles, fun houses-”

“And all the cotton candy, funnel cake, and popcorn you can eat!” Hugh chimed in.

Billy blinked. He knew what popcorn was but he had no idea what ‘cotton candy’ or ‘funnel cake’ was. Funnel cake had to taste like cake right? Otherwise, why call it a cake? He hoped the cotton candy thing didn’t taste like real cotton. But why would anyone make candy out of cotton in the first place?

"So like an amusement park?" Billy asked. He’d been to one when he was a little kid, way before he became famous, but could hardly remember it anymore. 

"Well not quite," Jane admitted, "these are smaller, a little more...rustic, and usually travel from town to town."

Billy thought for a moment. A small, portable amusement park? It sounded kind of interesting but anything ‘rustic’ wasn’t usually something in BJC’s taste. Meanwhile, Spencer was bouncing up and down with excitement next to him.

“Can we go?! Can we, can we, can we?!” The kid asked.

Jane patted Spencer on the head, “Calm down, sweetie. Only if the Cohen’s have some spare time tonight.”

Billy looked at his mother who was sporting a look like she just smelled something foul. Billy felt a little inclined to agree.

“Pleaaaassseee?” Spencer cooed as he tugged on Billy’s pant leg with his big brown puppy dog eyes fully activated.

_ Oh crap _...The kid was really starting to get to him. He sighed, “Count me in.”

His mother gave him a look but ultimately relented and nodded to Jane.

“Great! There’s going to be fireworks at 9 pm so we better be sure to get there early and grab a good spot before it gets too crowded,” Jane said.

Fireworks? Billy smiled. Rides, games, food, and fireworks? The last time he’d seen fireworks was at one of his concerts. But of course when you’re on stage performing it’s hard to just sit back and watch them. Plus, if this ‘carnival’ brought in a crowd maybe there’d be kids around his own age to hang out with. Spencer was ok and all but it wasn’t the same. And he might be able to let it slip who he REALLY was. Boy did he miss the attention. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. 

  
  
  


In fact, it was awesome. As soon as they arrived he was bombarded with music, talking, laughter, dazzling colorful lights, and the scent of sweets and fried foods. Rides danced through the sky, performers and actors wove through the crowds milling in the game area. There were so many people! Not quite as many as what his concerts drew in but a lot. Teenagers too. FINALLY. 

Billy begged his mom to hire one of these ‘carnivals’ for his next concert. She gave him a face that he knew meant absolutely not. He had no idea what half of the rides, games, and food were or even if he’d enjoy them, but he was eager to try. Then his eye caught a group of teenage girls giggling and jogging towards the game area. He bit his lip to suppress a grin and quickly fixed his hair. Time to work the Cobra magic.

“Ok, everyone listen up!” Hugh shouted in an all too cheery voice over the roaring crowd.

_ Uh oh, _ Billy internally groaned.

“Buddy system! Walking around in these crowds can be dangerous and we could get separated. So let’s all stick together. Even if you want to go somewhere else from the main group pick yourselves a buddy and stick close to your buddy!”

Billy rolled his eyes. Seriously? He’d just pick one of the adults. Easy enough to elude when he got an opening to slip away.

“Baruch, you keep an eye on Spencer,” his mom said.

Billy’s head snapped to her, “_ What _?!”

Spencer perked up and grabbed his hand, “Yay!”

“Oh, great idea! That’ll give you two more time to bond,” Jane cooed.

_ No, no, no!_ This wasn’t what he wanted at all. He wanted to hang out with kids his age for once. He watched the girls disappearing among the crowds. 

Billy covered the glare towards his mother with a forced smile, “But what about you, _ Mother dearest_? We don’t get much quality time anymore, now could be our chance.” And he could easily slip away from her.

She narrowed her sharp glare at him. “You stay with Spencer,” She said hissed in her ‘and don’t you dare argue back’ tone. She saw right through his ruse. _ Shit_.

Billy looked back at the crowd. The girls had disappeared among the people. He wanted to stamp his feet and yell. He was about to argue back but the kid pulled him forward as the family walked into the carnival. He grumbled and took a deep breath in through his nose. This probably wasn’t going to be cool at all...

  
  
  


Billy found out a few things as the family wandered around the carnival.

**One**: He loved cotton candy and funnel cake. Funnel cake didn’t taste like he expected it would. It was soooo much better. And, to his relief, he learned cotton candy was actually made from sugar, not real cotton.

**Two**: He hated, HATED the merry-go-round, spinning teacups, or any ride that spun. The Wrights had spun their teacup around so fast that Billy vomited immediately after getting off. He also refused to go on the Ferris wheel. Heights were a no-go for BJC. Instead, he sat and waited on a bench with Jessica while the rest of the family went on. Thankfully, the baby stayed asleep in her stroller.

**Three**: He wasn’t very good at carnival games but opted to put the blame on all the games being rigged. Nothing to do with his lack of skill. Nope, nope, nope. 

So far the only things he really enjoyed were the fun houses(ESPECIALLY the House of Mirrors), food, and some of the shows put on by performers. He was forced to sit through a dumb puppet show for the kids’ sake but the guy who swallowed swords and spat fire was awesome. 

They had local bands on the small stage at one point, mostly country music. In Billys’ professional opinion they were all so terrible that he almost jumped up to perform himself. But his mom picked up on this and literally dragged him away. She handed Spencer off to him, gave him a wad of money, and told them to go play some more games while Mr. and Mrs. Wright tended to feeding the baby and changing her diaper. Something he was happy to skip out on. 

That’s how he found himself wandering the noisy game section again with a child in tow. On the upside there appeared to be kids his own age here. But every time he tried to mingle with a group or lay down the smooth on some senoritas Spencer would drag him away or go running off, forcing Billy to chase after him. As badly as he wanted to hang out with other people if the lost the kid in this crowd he knew his mother would chew him up and spit him out.

Spencer stopped in front of one of the game stalls, letting out a huge gasp. With a groan and roll of his eyes, Billy indulged the kid and stood next to him. Spencer was staring up at a stuffed ZomBoy doll hanging among the prizes for this particular game. A bunch of balloons were attached to a board at the back of the stall with the words ‘Balloon Buster’ written in bit bubbly letters across the top.

"Can we play this one for that? Can we, can we?!" Spencer asked as he pointed at the doll.

Billy sighed and looked at the teenager manning the stand. A lanky, pimply boy who looked about as interested in doing his job as watching paint dry. He was chewing gum in a way that reminded Billy of the cows he’d seen in the fields by the Wrights’ house. The teen barely acknowledged him. Billy loudly cleared his throat. The teens’ eyes shot over to him and he popped a bubble. 

Billy pointed at the toy, “How do I get that?”

Pimple-face turned slowly, staring at the toy for longer than necessary, then turned back to them, somehow even slower than before. “Gotta play the game, kid. Pop five balloons in a row with darts for the big prize. $1 per dart.”

_ Kid?! _ Billy’s eye twitched and he growled. Sure Pimple-face looked a few years older than him but Billy Joe Cobra wasn’t a little kid anymore! If this backwater town teen knew who Billy really was he’d think twice about what comes out of his mouth. Billy was about to rip him a new one when he felt a tug on his leg. He looked down and saw Spencer pouting up at him.

“Pleeeaaasseee?” the kid begged with those puppy dog eyes. 

_ Gosh, darn it! _ Billy clenched his hands into fists and stamped his foot, “Fine! But then we do something I want to do, capiche?"

Spencer grinned and nodded eagerly. Billy slapped down a $5 on the counter. Pimple-face sighed, took it, and slowly set a small basket of darts on the counter. Billy picked up one of the darts and threw it. It hit a balloon that burst with a loud _ POP_! Yes! Billy grinned as he picked up the next dart and threw it at the board. It missed.

Spencer frowned and groaned. Billy’s lip twitched and he gave the kid an uneasy smile. “Maybe we can still win something small?” He tried again. Another miss. In frustration, he threw the rest in rapid succession. They all missed.

“Too bad, kid,” Pimple-face droned. 

Billy’s eye twitched, “Shouldn’t you be more polite to your customers? Calling someone ‘kid’ isn’t very professional.”

The teen just raised an eyebrow at him and gnawed on his gum.

Spencer tugged on Billy’s pant leg again. “Can I try?” He pouted.

Billy sighed and looked around the rest of the game area. Maybe another stall with an easier game had the stupid doll. Then he spotted the girls from earlier. They were milling at a nearby stall. He grinned. “Yeah, yeah, sure,” Billy said, pulling out some more cash and putting it on the counter. 

Billy straightened his shirt as Pimple-face gave Spencer more darts. While the kid was distracted he could finally go talk to some girls. Just as he was about to head over he felt Spencer grab his hand. Billy shot a glare down at him.

“I can’t reach,” the kid frowned up at him. It was true. Spencer’s head didn’t even clear the counter, he was too short to reach over it. Billy glanced back at the girls. They were still there. Ok, they still had time. He hoisted Spencer up and set him on his shoulders, “Fine, but make it quick.”

The first three darts the kid threw hit their marks, popping three balloons. Hey, the kid was pretty good! But then the last two missed. Billy’s excitement deflated just like the smile on the kids face. He put Spencer back down and glared at the teen manning the stall, “Look, can’t I just buy it?”

Pimple-face rolled his eyes and let out an exaggerated sigh, “No, that’s against the rules, _ sir_.”

Billy glared. He really wished he could tell this jerkface who he was. Even if he wasn’t a fan of his music surely he'd recognize how important BJC was. But if Billy caused a scene his mom would find out and he didn’t want to deal with that backlash. Not today.

“Tsk, this is a bogus rigged game anyway. Come on, Spence. Let’s go do something else.” Billy started to walk away but noticed the kid wasn’t with him. He stopped and looked back.

Spencer was still at the stall, pouting longingly with his big puppy dog eyes at the ZomBoy stuffed toy he’d failed to win. Billy internally groaned. Every time the kid made that face he could never seem to resist it. BJC was getting soft. The girls were still at the nearby stall so maybe they could try one last time before the girls left.

Billy rolled up his sleeves and grabbed some money from his pocket. He didn’t even bother to look at the amount because come on, this is BJC we’re talking about, money is no issue. He stormed back to the stall and slammed it down on the counter. 

“We’re not done! Gimme more rounds!” Billy said. Spencer gasped with excitement. 

Pimple-face jumped before sputtering out, “H-How many?”

“As much as this will buy!”

Pimple face stared at him wide-eyed with his mouth gaping like a fish. Then he nodded vigorously, took the money, and gave him an absurd amount of darts. “Ju-Just remember, each round you need to hit-”

“Yeah, yeah. Five balloons in a row.”

Billy grinned, grabbed one, and threw it. Miss. He frowned. It didn’t matter, they had plenty more. He grabbed another and threw it.

  
  


By the end, he was glad he’d bought so many rounds...because they were almost out. Billy was sweating and his heart racing. He’d finally, FINALLY managed to hit four ballons consecutively. One more and they’d have the prize. The only problem was now he was nervous. VERY nervous. A crowd of people had formed around them, watching, and cheering him on. Including the girls he had eyed up earlier. He could feel the pressure to win. He swallowed and was unsure of himself. Normally, he was so confident. So sure. He was BJC after all, he exuberates confidence and he always succeeded. At least on the stage. But here, in this dinky little carnival in a podunk town for once in his life he felt like he was going to fail because of a stupid carnival game. And with people watching him no less. This was horrible. 

Something tugged on his pants and he looked down. Spencer looked up at him with big, hopeful eyes and a smile while clinging to his pant leg. Right, the whole reason he was doing this was for the kid. And to impress the crowd. Especially the girls. He’d beat this, win the prize, and shove it in that pimple-faced losers’ dumb pimple face. 

Billy grabbed the last dart and took aim. Now or never. He threw it. _ POP! _ It hit! The crowd cheered. Billy hopped up and down with Spencer, laughing at the slack-jawed expression on Pimple-face. 

Billy pointed at the ZomBoy doll, “We’ll take that, if you don’t mind.”

The teen grumbled bitterly before grabbing the doll and handing it over. Billy snatched it from him and handed it to Spencer who hugged it with glee before hugging Billy. Billy patted his head.

“Great job!” came a sweet voice from behind. Billy spun around to see a group of teenagers lingering behind him along with the girls from before. There were two guys, one looked like a jock and the other like a punk, and three girls, a girly blonde, a sporty brunette, and a punk black-haired girl.

The blonde girl knelt down to be eye level with Spencer. “Is this your little brother?”

“My cousin, actually…”

“What, you babysitting him or something?” the jock sneered.

“Uh-uh, well-”

“That is so mature of you!” The brunette said. 

Billy blinked. Mature? “Uh, yeah! You know, can’t let him go running around all by himself. It’s not safe. And how could I say no when he really wanted the doll?”

The blonde reached over and scruffed Spencer’s hair. The kid wasn’t having it as he cringed and shrank behind Billy. “Aww, he’s so cute,” she cooed. She stood up and looked Billy directly in the eye, “And that is _ so _ sweet of you to take such good care of him.”

Billy felt flustered for a moment before reminding himself of who he was. He cleared his throat and put on his best smolder, “Well, I AM a very caring and generous guy. Care to find out for yourself?”

The kid tugged on his pants again, “Biiillyyyy, can we go now?”

Billy’s eye twitched. “One sec, ladies,” he grinned at them before turning on his heel and kneeling down to Spencer. “Didn’t we agree that if I got that toy for you then we could do something I wanted?”

Spencer pouted and fiddled with the doll. “For how long?” He asked with teary eyes.

Did the kid have to turn on the waterworks every time he wanted to get his way? Billy scrubbed a hand over his face. Spencer must have figured out how to manipulate him. The last thing he needed was for the kid to go crying to the adults and land him in a heap of trouble.

“Just for a little while, ok? Then we’ll do something you want.”

Spencer perked up, “Anything?”

  
  
Billy glanced back at the other teens who looked to be growing impatient. “Yeah, yeah, sure.”

“Proooomiise?”

“Yeah! I promise, ok?!”

Spencer grinned and nodded, “Ok!”

Billy let out a sigh of relief as he stood and turned back to the group. “Sorry about that, guys! You know kids. But he’s onboard now. Whaddya say we go get some bro-visions?” He looped an arm around the flirty blonde as the group sauntered off with the kid in tow.

  
  


Billy had lost track of how long he’d spent with his new friends. He only knew that he was thoroughly enjoying himself. Flirting, impressing the group with his many talents, discussing fashion tips with the ladies, and just all around being his usual pop-star self. Without revealing his true identity anyway. Though he did let it slip that his name was ‘Billy’ and that he was pretty well known. Whether they figured it out for themselves or not wasn’t his fault. 

Spencer had been ok with occupying himself by playing with his ZomBoy for a while. At first, the girls thought he was adorable and cooed over him. But it was clear the longer it went on, and the more the kid insisted someone play with him, the more it got on their nerves. The kid was also getting bored and whiny. 

“Can’t he go back to his parents, or something?” The punk rocker muttered to Billy.

Billy grimaced. Not with Hughs’ ‘buddy system’ in play. His mother would have a cow. Besides, he didn’t even know where to start looking for the adults. This place wasn’t big but it was crowded and easy to get lost in.

“I’m boooored,” Spencer whined, “We’ve been here FOREVER. Can we go do something now?”

“Oh, come on, kid. It hasn’t been that long,” Billy answered.

“It’s been hours!”

Billy blinked and looked around. The sun was setting. He was right, they’d been hanging with the teens for hours. Crap. Which meant it would be time for fireworks soon and the boys didn’t show up he’d be in trouble. But maybe he could convince the group to go sit nearby and watch the fireworks. That way he could still hang out with them while not technically breaking the rules.

“Hey! What do you guys say we go find a good spot to watch the fireworks?” He grinned.

The teenagers looked among each other and nodded in agreement. They stood and began to head out towards a large hill just outside of the carnival where people were gathering to watch the fireworks.

“Billy, what about what I wanna do?” Spencer whined.  
  
“Later, let’s just go, ok?” Billy rolled his eyes, grabbing the kids’ hand and dragging him along.

The group walked through the carnival, past various stalls, rides, fun houses, and food stands towards the exit. All the while the kid sniffled, hugging his ZomBoy plush. Billy grimaced, feeling a bit guilty for upsetting the kid.

“Billy!” Spencer suddenly shouted with delight.

They all stopped and looked down at the kid who was staring off into the distance and pointing at something. Billy looked to where he was pointing and saw a carnival funhouse. It was huge compared to the ones he’d seen earlier and it looked a little run down. Then he realized it wasn’t just any funhouse. It was a haunted house with a haunted carnival theme. 

“I wanna go in there!” Spencer shouted.

“That looks kinda interesting. Let’s check it out,” the brunette said.

Billy shrunk back, “Uh, or yo-you know we could, um-”

“Don’t tell me you’re scared,” the punk guy teased.

“Who, me? No way!”

The blonde then wrapped an arm around his, “Good! Let’s go.”

Billy swallowed. He couldn’t back down now that he had a lady to impress. Spencer cheered and ran over to the line of people waiting to go into the haunted house. The rest of the group joined him. Spencer bounced with excitement the entire time they were in line. The teenagers chatted and joked around but Billy couldn’t focus on the conversations. His eyes were fixated on actors dressed in scary clown costumes, weaving in and out of the line and scaring those waiting to enter. One, in particular, was closing in on them. He steeled himself, determined to anticipate a scare and remain unaffected to impress his new lady friend. Billy Joe Cobra wasn’t a coward. He’d show these guys how brave and awesome he was and they’d go back to swooning over him. With a grin, he snapped out of his little daydream to look for the actor again. Only they weren’t there anymore. He glanced around among the people but there were too many. He couldn’t find the actor.

“Everything ok?” His pretty blonde said.

“Uh-uh, yeah! Yeah, totally, you know, I was just-”

“_RAAAAAAHH!!” _A demonic face sprung up right next to them, shouting in their ears.

Everyone screamed and jumped but Billy took it a step further by diving behind a nearby sign. He sat there crouched on the ground, shivering with his ears covered and eyes screwed shut. After a moment the screams turned into laughter. His eyes blinked open and he peeked around the sign.

That damned actor had snuck up on him and scared the daylights out of him. Worse of all, now the teenagers were pointing and laughing at him.

“What a scaredy-cat!” The punk guy said.

“Oh my God, you should have seen your face! Haha! And the way you jumped and hid was hilarious!” The punk girl added.

“I thought you said you weren’t scared,” the brunette teased.

Billy glared, “I’m not! I was just surprised!”

“As if!” The jock laughed.

Billy stood, about to unleash an epic rebuttal on these losers but something grabbed his hand. He jolted and looked down. It was only Spencer. He let out a sigh.

“I can hold your hand if you’re scared,” the kid offered with a sincere expression. 

This elicited a new wave of laughter from the teens. 

“Yeah, sure! Then why don’t you let the kid make you a bottle and tuck you in for a nap too, you big baby!” The jock jeered. The other three, and some bystanders who were eavesdropping, roared with laughter.

Billy’s cheeks and ears grew hot and his chest felt tight. If there was one thing the Cobra hated, it was being made a fool of. He snatched his hand away from Spencer, folding his arms across his chest. He stood like that through the rest of the line as the teens teased him.

The blonde wrapped her arms around his arm again. “You know we’re just kidding, right?” She said in a sickly sweet voice. The jock scoffed and choked down a laugh behind her, obviously not agreeing.

Billy gave her another once over. He’d met plenty of fake people before, there were plenty of those in Hollywood. Now that he got a better look at them he could tell she was fake. They were all fake. But he was still determined to prove them wrong. The Cobra wouldn’t be made a fool of in public. He’d breeze through this like it was a piece of cake. Then he’d be the one laughing.

As they approached the entrance he ignored his erratically beating heart as well as the hurt glances Spencer gave him. They were greeted by the ghoulish ‘Ringmaster’ who laughed and ushered them in through the creepy hand-painted archway.

Any stoicism Billy had before immediately flew out the door. The walls of the maze were cheaply decorated like a dilapidated circus and the dim lights flickered but it still scared him. Fake chains hung from the ceilings and walls, some holding up mannequins or dolls made up to look like a bloody corpse. Performers usually looked like zombie versions of your typical circus performers. Occasionally one would jump out and scare the group. Spencer found it very amusing. 

The first few scares Billy did ok. He bit his lip to keep from screaming too loud. His arms were folded so tightly in front of them they hurt and he was sweating. But he was sure he still looked cool. Despite the chuckles of the other teens. Whenever he got too scared Spencer had tried to hold his hand or pant leg but Billy shook him off. The last thing he needed was the others calling him a baby again. Spencer looked upset at the rejection but Billy figured he could deal with it if this is the place the kid made him go to. _ Serves him right! _ Billy thought bitterly. Everything was fine until Spencer suggested they come here of all places. Though...that ‘guilt’ feeling was seeping its way into him again. He stamped it down with the determination and spite to get through this and show the others he was cool again.

One of the fake carnival posters dropped behind Billy and from it a performer lunged out, shouting at the group. Billy hadn’t been expecting it. He had been too busy moping. He jumped and screamed, definitely not in a manly way, and he ran ahead. 

“Billy!” He heard Spencer call. 

But Billy didn’t stop or look back. He was sick of this place and wanted to leave. When he bumped into another actor, a large zombie clown with rubbery jagged teeth, he shrieked and opted to abandon the normal path. Light spilled in through a small gap in the wall of the maze behind a thin sheet. Billy dove right through it. He was mercifully met with the grass, bright dazzling lights, the sound of laughter, music, and shouts from rides, and the smell of confections and popcorn again. He sucked in deep breaths and tried to get his heart to stop racing. 

The actor popped his head out of the gap. “Yo, kid! It’s all an act, ya know? It’s not real.”

Billy glared back at the man, his cheeks red hot with embarrassment again. “Yeah, I know! You don’t have to rub it in.” 

He pouted, getting to his feet and brushing himself off. Great...now he couldn’t say he’d proven those teens wrong. He sighed before wandering towards the back of the tent to wait for the group and Spencer to emerge.

When the other four teenagers finally emerged they were roaring with laughter. Billy stood within view of the exit, leaning against a food cart, arms folded across his chest. 

“I can’t believe you ran! How lame,’ The jock said.

The punk couple was laughing so hard they were too busy trying to catch their breath to add anything. 

“I thought you’d be braver than that.” The brunette mocked.

His pretty blonde pouted, “I thought so too.”

Then they all laughed.

Billy’s face was hot and he knew he was red as a beet. He felt worse at the idea that he had disappointed the girl he was trying to impress. Uhg...whatever. There would be plenty of other girls. He was a star after all. He could get better girls than her. 

Billy straightened himself, “Whatever. I’m done with this! Don’t you chuckleheads have anything better to do?” 

He turned on his heel, determined to strut away with style. But he stopped at the sight of his mom and the Wrights standing right behind him. 

“There you are!” His mom chided. “It’s almost time for the fireworks. You boys were supposed to meet us to go see the fireworks.”

“We were on our way! We just got...distracted,” Billy protested.

She raised an eyebrow, “Really?”

Billy heard the teens chuckling behind him. Uhg! Of all times for his mother to embarrass him.

“Where’s Spencer?” Jane asked, looking around the group.

“Right here!” Billy whirled back at the group. 

But the teens were already walking off. Spencer wasn’t with them. He blinked. He was sure the kid would come out with them. Billy frantically looked around. Dozens of passing faces but none of them were the kid. He wasn’t standing outside of the Haunted House either.

_ Oh no. _ Billy’s heart dropped into his stomach. 

“Baruch, you had one job!” His mother yelled.

Billy didn’t bother sticking around for the verbal beating. He made a b-line for the Haunted House exit and dove in past the protesting employee guarding it. But since he’d cut out of the maze early he didn’t know his way around the path and ran headfirst into a study metal prop sticking out of the wall. The world spun as he hit the ground.


End file.
